Vacation Memories and Musings

I recently went on vacation with my family to Yellowstone National Park, and I must say, I wasn't disappointed! We had been looking forward to it for quite a while, because my mom purchased a lifetime pass to the national parks when we went to the Grand Canyon a while back, and started working on our reservations about a year ago in order to find a place to stay within the park. Also, my mom was somewhat intentional about the plans, because with my parents getting older, and both my niece and nephew graduating from college and high school respectively next year, it looked like possibly the last best chance we might have at being able to find a time/adjust our schedules and travel somewhere together (for 7 busy people who live in 3 different places, that's saying a lot!). I was taking care of things at work almost up to the last minute, but throughout the whole trip, it was as if God was telling me to slow down, buckle my seat belt, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show! The awesome display of His handiwork was incredible, from Old Faithful, to a boat tour of Yellowstone Lake, viewing he Grand Tetons/the falls at Canyon Village, and seeing majestic wildlife (bison, elk, deer, a bald eagle and a bear/cubs) roaming freely as He created them to do was nothing short of amazing. Even though we were able to visit a large section of the park in just three and a half days, we were also able to take our time and not feel terribly rushed. We rented a van to get around, and it actually gave us some quality time to reconnect (my nephew even kept us entertained with his "punny" jokes of the day), which made the distances seem even shorter than they were; however, we did have a couple of near run-ins with some bison for excitement along the way! God also reminded me of how small the world now is, because I wore my purple FBC logo t-shirt the day we took our boat tour of Yellowstone Lake, and a couple walked by and asked, "That wouldn't be First Baptist of Dalton, GA, would it?". When I said yes, they replied that they were from Albany (which is ironic, considering our Pastoral Educator is from there); so much for getting away! Somehow I think God was reminding me that no matter where I am, even in the midst of perfect strangers, I'm His representative as a Christian, and should always strive to live accordingly. I also discovered the work of a nature writer named Ilan Shamir on a set of gift shop bookmarks; the one I got was entitled "Advice from a Lake". I'm not sure if he is a person of faith, but it provided some food for thought that can certainly be taken in a Christian context:  

Advice from a Lake

Be clear
Make positive ripples
Look beneath the surface
Stay calm
Shore up friendships
Take time to reflect
Be full of life!